Fare-box



(No Model.)

J. W. GREER.

FARE BOX.

No. 356,465. v Patented Jan. 25, 1887.

WITNESSES I JV V'EJV' TOR .dttorney a citizen of the United States, residing at Ausin glass; and in forming these apartments I [UNTTE STATES PATENT EETcEt JOHN WVILLIAM GREER, OF AUSTIN, ASSIGhlOR OF ONE-HALF TO \VILLIA H. TOBIN, OF TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS.

BOX.

SPECIPICATION forming part 0: Letters Patent No. 356,4;65, dated January 25, 1887.

r Application filed April 8, 1886. Serial No. 198,279. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN WILLIAM GREER,

tin, in the county of Travis and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fare-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is an improvement in fareboxes applicable for use as portable receivers for money or its representative, or permanent receivers of the same, to be secured in a car or coach.

The box is framed of wide upright pieces of wood, preferably, which form the sides, secured together with screws driven into them, and horizontal separating-pieces at the bottom and top of the box. Separating-pieces in the form of sills for windows are also used at the bottoms of the several apartments, and these are also secured to the sidcs'with screws or nails.

In this fare-box are three resting-places for the fares before they enter the final receptacle or drawer provided at the bottom of the case, and the windows in front are so arranged that the fares may be observed at each change until they enter their final receptacle. All lights of glass employed are held in grooves in the upright sides of the case or in a frame secured in grooves of the said sides, so that by no possibility can they be displaced unless the entire box is taken to pieces.

Four apartments are provided in the makeup of the fare-box, inclosed for the most part use at their backs a long plate, obliquely placed, extending from near the top of the uppermost to the foot of the lowest. Vertical lights of glass form the fronts of the upper, second, and fourth apartments, and these are so located with reference to the long oblique back plate as to allow of openings for the fares to pass through. The third apartment, count ing from the top, has its frontformed of a light of glass set in a frame or sash, and normally said sash bears, by its lower edge, against the oblique glass plate, being held thereto by a flat sprin This sash is confined in grooves formed in the upright sides of the box. Said sash has a certain amount of play at its bottom, and, being confined at its top, when it is withdrawn against the force of the spring 5 5 which keeps it to normal position, the fares are allowed to pass into the lowest of the said apartments. At the lowest of the four illuminated apartments the fares are arrested by a heavy bar, to which is secured a bail held in openings provided as guides in the sill of the apartment above. This gravity-bar is of form and size adapted to cover the openings immediately above the receiving-drawer. When the driver or operator lifts said bar, the fares .65 drop into the drawer. The second of the illuminated apartments is also provided with a gravity-bar provided with a bail like that j ust described, exactly filling or covering the space or opening provided here for the fares to pass. The bottom edges of the fares whenthey drop rest upon the top of this weighted bar, leaning between the front window-light and the oblique back glass plate, and in this position one side of each of the fares is exhibited to the 7 driver or operator. When the weighted bar is lifted, the fares are turned or reversed and then dropto the third apartment, where they expose to the view of the operator the reverse faces of said fares.

In the first or uppermost apartment of the box is fixed a short vertical intermediate glass plate, and between this and the vertical front plate of this apartment, above, is the opening to receive the fares from the passengers. To 8 5 the under side of a bar separating the upper and second apartments is hinged, close to the front glass plate of the said second apartment,

a metallic gate, which, when the box is turned upside down, falls over the passage-way for the fares and requires them to pass behind said passage-way, rather than have them discharged through the receiving-opening. The bottom apartment of the box is also provided with a metallic gate hinged to the inner face Q of its front vertical wall. This gate, when in normal position, rests obliquely. upon pins fixed in said front wall beneath it, and in such position serves as a chute to require the fares to find place toward the center of the drawer within. When the box is turned upside down,

this inclined gate drops over the fare-opening above and prevents the fares from finding place is provided with a weight which swings from a center of motion, and a spring-catch arranged to operate in connection therewith, -to serve as a tell-tale to detect any attempt to abstract the fares by reversing the box. \Vhen the drawer is in normal position, the weight rests upon the bottom of the drawer free from the spring-catch; but should the drawer be reversed the weight will swing about its axis and be caught by the said spring, where it will be held until it tells the tale of attempt at robbery to the one interested.

In my drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the fare-box. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section of the same.

Similar reference-letters indicate like parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, A A are the upright sides of the farebox, provided with narrow grooves in their inner sides adapted to receive the edges of the several glass plates forming the window-slides, &c.

At the top of the box is an oblique piece, B,

provided with an opening, 0, into which fares.

are to be dropped. A bar, S, sills T U, top V of the drawer-case, and the vertical front of the same are interposed at different planes between the uprights A A, and to the latter said parts are securely fastened, forming, together with the back glass plate, a complete inclosure.

At the back of the boX is a long glass plate, M, secured in oblique grooves in the uprights A A, which extend between the bottom edge of the mouth-piece B and the upper surface of the board V, which forms the top of the drawer-ease.

In front of the fare-opening, between the rabbet of the bar S and the oblique piece B,

y is a vertical window-light,l, secured in grooves in the upright sides A A, and on the other side of said fare-opening is a glass partition, N, which, together with the window I and plate M, forms spaces D D. The sill T, fixed between the upright sides A A, is provided on its under side with a segmental groove, t, to receive the sash and window K. The said sash rests upon the sill U below, and has a lateral play about its axis in grooves K of the uprights AA. A spring, a, has its ends resting against the shoulders K of the grooves and bendsinward, bearing at its middle against the lower bar of the said sash. The said sash is provided with a staple, a, and to this latter is fixed a wire or cord, 1), by which the lower bar of said sash may be withdrawn against the force of the spring, to open the space immediately in rear (otherwise closed by force of the spring) when the operator wishes to drop the fares into the drawer below.

Hinged to the bar S is a metallic gate, L, which, when the box is reversed, closes over the space D and prevents the fares from passing out of the opening 0. Said fares when so barred gravitate into the space D. Between the sill U and a rabbet in the front wall, W, of the drawer-ease is a window, L, through which the fares are seen for the last time before being dropped into the drawer. The bar S and sill U are provided with small openings near their ends, through which pass the wires of bails p and d, and these bails are secured to weighted bars P and Q. These bars when in normal position rest over the respective fare-openings between plates J M and L M, and the upper edges of said weighted bars form rests for the fares at elevations of their locations.

When the fare is dropped by the payer into the opening provided for it, it drops immediately upon the bar 1?, and, there resting, the driver or operator may see, through the window in front, one side of the fare-piece. By lifting the bar P by its bail p the piece is carried upward. resting the while against the oblique plate M, until it reaches a point where the space is greater than the width of the piece. The latter is then reversed and falls back, dropping against thesaid oblique plate M and window K, where the reverse side of the said piece isexhibited to the operator. The window K being now drawn by the operator against the force of the spring a, the fare drops still downward and rests upon the bar Q until the operator lifts said bar to tumble the said fare in the drawer below.

Gate e is hinged to the front wall, W, of the drawer-case, and said gate rests normally upon the heads of pins f, fastened in said front wall, and shunts the fares toward the center of the drawer H.

Should the fare-box be turned upside down, the gate 6 would fall against the top V of the drawer-ease and cover the opening immediately above it and prevent the fares from passing back.

In the front wall of the drawer H is pivoted a weight, g, which, when the fare-box is in right position, rests upon the bottom of said drawer; but should the operator in charge attempt to reverse the fare-box the said weight would drop and be caught and held byaspring, h. By means of this tell-tale device the proprietor would be warned to look out for thieves.

It will be noticed that the upper surfaces of the bars P and Q are beveled outward toward the front for the purpose of having the lower edges of the fares directed against the front window-plates, so that in resting they must lean back against the oblique plate M in po-. sition to fall when the said bars are lifted.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A fare-box provided with four il1uminated apartments formed of a transparent backing plate and three transparent front plates, substantially as described, and a transparent plate fixed in a movable sash which is normally held to close contact with the said backing-plate by means of a spring, which latter when caused to yield by force allows 5 the said sash to move and open a passageway to the gravitating faces.

2. The combination, with the upright sides A A of the fare-box, the piece B, provided with a receiving-opening, the plate M, and

I0 front plate, I, and plate N, of the gate L, hinged to the bar S, arranged to automatically close the space D beneath the receiving-opening when the box is reversed and shoot the said fares into the space D, as and for the pur- 15 pose specified.

3. The combination, with front plates fixed within suitable upper, lower, and vertical bearings, substantially as set forth, back plate, M, fixed between the upright sides of the box,

20 and partsV and B, of the weighted bars provided with bails arranged to move in guideopenings, as set forth, whereby the openings immediately below said bars may be opened by the operator or closed automatically, as and for the purpose specified.

4. The combination, with the oblique plate M, upright sides A A, provided with grooves K, and sill T, provided with groove 15 as the base of movement to the glazed sash K, of glazed sash K and spring a, having'its ends bearing against the shoulders of the groove K, as specified.

5. The combination, with the fare-drawer, of the spring-catch h, secured to the inner face of the drawer-front, and weight g, provided with an arm pivoted within the drawer-front, which is engaged and held by the said catch when the box is reversed, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signaturein 4o presence of two witnesses.

JOHN WVILLIAM GREER.

Witnesses:

CHAS. A. DAOHSEL, H. W. BELL. 

